Surfing: Brazil's Medina, and Tahiti's 'Wall of Skulls', approach perfection

TEAHUPO'O, Tahiti: Brazil's Gabriel Medina powered through a giant blue barrel for the highest score of the Olympic surfing competition so far, but Tahiti's Teahupo'o stole the show on Monday (Jul 29) with some of the most incredible waves ever seen in competition.

The decision to hold the surfing event at the perfect reef pass of Teahupo'o proved inspired as a solid southwest swell rose and a forecasted storm held off just long enough to complete the men's third round.

Teahupo'o, which loosely translates as "Wall of Skulls" after a gruesome local legend, really bared its teeth after two days of more user-friendly conditions.

Time after time, surfers paddled hard and threw themselves into the waves which sucked below sea-level as they hit the reef.

Those who got it right were spat out of the fearsome tubes, shrouded in firehose blasts of spray. Horrendous wipeouts, broken boards and jetski rescues followed for those who got it wrong.

Medina got the wave of the event so far in his round-five heat against Japan's Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Kanoa Igarashi, a 9.90 out of 10 that was, if anything, underscored.

Taking off deep, Medina pumped through an enormous tube and signalled to the judges that he thought it was worth a 10 before flying into the channel. Most of those on the flotilla of boats and jetskis watching metres away screamed in agreement.

Medina backed it up with a 7.5 for a 17.4 points total to cement him as a favourite to win gold.

"I never imagined we could get waves like this in the Olympics," said Medina. "I'm comfortable when the waves are good and as long as it's like this, it's good for everyone... Today was a good day for sure."

One heavyweight clash, John John Florence of the United States taking on